2012 Focus First to Receive Ford’s Next-Gen Airbags

Everyone has heard the baseless non-statistic that claims “airbags hurt more than they help.” Actual numbers, of course, show that the scales are tipped heavily towards the “help” end of things with today’s inflatable restraints. Ford plans to nudge the safety-tech envelope another inch forward when the 2012 Focus debuts featuring the company’s next-generation airbags. […]

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Everyone has heard the baseless non-statistic that claims “airbags hurt more than they help.” Actual numbers, of course, show that the scales are tipped heavily towards the “help” end of things with today’s inflatable restraints. Ford plans to nudge the safety-tech envelope another inch forward when the 2012 Focus debuts featuring the company’s next-generation airbags. (How many generations is that now?)

At the forefront of this new safety design is an internal strap placed near the underside of the driver airbag, depicted above. Its purpose is to keep impact forces off of your chest and lower abdomen and instead distribute them over heartier bits like your shoulders and upper torso. The side-impact airbags use a strategically placed vent that varies bag pressure based on shoulder position; smaller occupants’ shoulders don’t block the vent, letting a large portion of the gases out and softening the bag to coincide with their decreased weight. Larger occupants’ shoulders will block the vent and keep the bag stiffer. Finally, the front-passenger airbag gets a pyrotechnically operated valve that can vary bag pressure based on seating position.

While not all of these technologies are new ideas, they are new to Ford vehicles. The updates sound like actions taken by a benevolent Ford with its only aim being to save customers the anguish of injuries that might have resulted previously, but the truth is that much tougher crash-testing methods, lower injury thresholds, and stricter small-occupant safety standards will be imposed in the next couple of years, necessitating such improvements. A Ford engineer told us that some of the company’s Five Star–scoring vehicles would be considered Three Star scorers under the new guidelines.

You’ll see the new bags on the 2012 Focus as standard equipment, and they’ll migrate to most of the Ford fleet by the end of 2013. Hopefully you won’t need to actually see them, but rest assured all the new inflatable bits will be in there in case you do. Expect similar airbag updates from all automakers selling vehicles in the U.S.